The former residential

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

of Bonitza, centred on a town in the Roman province of

Epirus Vetus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinric ...

, is now a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of the Catholic Church. The town that was the centre of the diocese is now called

Vonitsa Vonitsa ( el, Βόνιτσα) is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. Population 4,916 (2011). The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is domina ...

( el, Βόνιτσα). It is unknown when the residential bishopric disappeared.

Description

Louis Petit, writing for the 1907

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

, said that the name "Bodone", by which the titular see was then known, was a dialect variation of "Dodone", the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

form of the name "

Dodona Dodona (; Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, ''Dōdṓnā'', Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη, ''Dōdṓnē'') in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. Th ...

". He identified the titular see with the former residential see of

and gave information on early Bishops of Dodona. Confusing matters further, there were two cities in Greece named "Dodona", the one in Epirus, noted above, and another one in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

, which

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

writes was also called Bodona (Βωδώνη). The ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' (Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides names ...

'' treats the titular sees of Bonitza and Dodona as distinct.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'', pp. 851 and 882 John, Bishop of Bonditza, signed a synodal act in 1229 (P.G., CXIX, 797). The "Nova Tactica" (

Georgius Cyprius George of Cyprus ( el, Γεώργιος Κύπριος; Latinized as ''Georgius Cyprius'') was a Byzantine geographer of the early seventh century. Nothing is known of his life save that he was born at Lapithos in the island of Cyprus. He is kno ...

ed.

Heinrich Gelzer Heinrich Gelzer (1 July 1847, in Berlin – 11 July 1906, in Jena) was a German classical scholar. He wrote also on Armenian mythology. He was the son of the Swiss historian Johann Heinrich Gelzer (1813–1889). He became Professor of classical ...

, 1661) has "Mounditza", but this, Petit says, is an evident mistake for "Bounditza", a form derived from "Bodone" (

Gustav Parthey Gustav Friedrich Konstantin Parthey (27 October 1798 – 2 April 1872) was a German philologist and art historian. Life Born in Berlin, Parthey was the son of (1745–1822), Geheimrat in the General Finance Directorate in Berlin, and Wilhelmine ...

, ''

Notitiae episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...

''., App. 48). In fact the later "Notitiae" wrote only Bounditza (ibid., III, 524), or Bonditza (ibid., X, 616; XIII, 467). Petit gave the contemporary place name as "Bonitza", the form now given in the ''Annuario Pontificio'', along with the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

form "Bonizza". The Roman Curia used for a long time the form "Bodona" (adjectival form: "Bodonensis"), and a decree of 1894 directed this name to be suppressed at the death of its titular.

References

{{reflist Catholic titular sees in Europe Aetolia-Acarnania